


run to me tonight

by swarmsoflizards



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Awkward Romance, Dragon Age Kink Meme, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Sexuality Crisis, Some Humor, cullen discovers bisexuality: the fic, its just fluffy feel good okay, so cheesy oh my god, ugh i dont know how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 10:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12886257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swarmsoflizards/pseuds/swarmsoflizards
Summary: The Inquisitor flirting with him sends Cullen into a bit of a spiral. Luckily, Dorian is able to kick him out of it.Based on a Kink Meme prompt.





	run to me tonight

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this like a year ago and only rediscovered it on my drive last night, so after a quick editing spree i'm sending it off. it's based on a kmeme prompt i've sadly lost track of for cullen discovering that he's into dudes thanks to m!inquisitor and subsequently freaking out a lil bit.
> 
> edit: i found the prompt! here it is: https://dragonage-kink.dreamwidth.org/91204.html?thread=365346884#cmt365346884
> 
> title from _middle distance runner_ by sea wolf. _so won't you run to me tonight? / tonight let's not talk about next summer / cause i'll only ever be a middle distance runner_

“Cullen?”

His head jerks up. “Yes?”

One side of the Inquisitor’s mouth quirks up in a smile. “You seem distracted.”

“Not at all.” Cullen swallows. “What were you saying?”

“It's really not important. Anyways, I was wondering if you had any plans for tonight.”

Cullen blinks. “Tonight? I was just planning on finishing some paperwork. Why?”

Max’s smile is a whole one now, if small and non-threatening. “I was hoping you would consent to getting a drink with me this evening.”

Cullen, damn it all, feels the blood rush to his cheeks before Max is finished speaking. “I…”

“You don't have to answer now,” Max says, “I'll be at the tavern regardless. But stop in if you’ve a mind, alright?” Max pats him on he shoulder as the walks past, leaving Cullen frozen to the ground, still blushing furiously. 

Not knowing what to do isn't a feeling that Cullen is fond of, as it usually comes with some amount of terror and mayhem. But not knowing what to do in a situation without the terror and mayhem, well, that's odd. He counts Max as a friend easily, as they got on since they first met: two warriors of considerable skill bonding over their shared frustrations. But now… 

Max had never hidden his attraction to men, and had even complimented Cullen on several occasions in ways that had made his insides warm. He’d thought it empty flattery, but now Max is flirting with him more overtly, and he’s starting to question how much he likes it, and Maker, what is going on?

Cullen likes  _ women.  _ He’d fancied himself in love with that girl in Kinloch Hold, and it wasn't like she was the only one. He’d never thought about a man like that- it had never even occurred to him. But Max makes him blush and stutter and turns his insides to jelly, and he always wants to be near him, and the sound of his voice is so- so-

Oh, Maker. He’s so lost he doesn't know which way is up.

 

\- - -

 

“Dorian, would you consider us friends?”

“Commander, do you mean to tell me you called me here to discuss whether or not we’re friends?”

“Well, no, but could you please answer the question?”

“Yes, Cullen, we’re friends. Now kindly spit it out, will you? You look so anxious, they can see it in the courtyard.”

Cullen swallows and oh, this was a terrible idea, he shouldn't involve anyone else in his personal drama let alone  _ Dorian  _ but-

“I'm waiting, Commander.”

“I… I have questions of a rather personal nature, but I'm afraid I might offend you.”

Dorian rolls his eyes. “There are people here who spit when I walk by.”

Cullen winces. “Point taken, sorry. But I don't want to cross a line, Dorian.”

“Honestly, quit stalling and get it over with.”

“How did you know that you like men?” He finally spits it out, cheeks aflame.

Dorian blinks, clearly surprised. “Well, I must admit that you’ve thoroughly surprised me. Well done.”

“I know this is strange. I only meant are you sure...?” 

A hard edge finds its way into Dorian’s voice as he responds. “No, Commander, I left my homeland and my birthright on a hunch.”

Cullen winces again, wishing he could take back everything he’s said thus far. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t what I meant. I’m trying to talk about myself, not you.”

The pieces clicking into place inside Dorian’s mind are nearly visible as Cullen stands, face red and eyebrows raised.

“This is about the Inquisitor.” It isn’t a question.

“I- yes.”

“And you’ve come to me because I’m the only other man you know who likes men besides himself and the Iron Bull?”

Cullen shifts uncomfortably. “Yes.”

“You could have fucking opened with that, you know.”

Cullen laughs, the twisting discomfort in his belly starting to dissipate. “Yes, well, I was nervous.”

“Clearly. So you, what, want sex tips or something?”

The blood rushes to his face quicker than he would have thought possible. “Sweet Maker, no! I just- I’ve never felt this way about a man before, and I don’t know, I’m going through a bit of a crisis.”

Dorian adopts an almost pitying smile. “Sweet Cullen, so innocent.” He reaches up to pat Cullen on the cheek, who bats his hand away with a glare. “Is it any different with women?”

“I don’t know. I’ve always noticed women, but now I’m looking back and questioning all my interactions with men and wondering if- if I liked them but didn’t notice, or mischaracterized it as looking up to them, or if something actually  _ is  _ different now, or what. It’s all very messy.”

Dorian  _ hm _ s. “I can’t say I’ve ever dealt with something like that.”

Cullen huffs. “Fantastic. I was hoping you’d say that this was all in my head and I could go back to being normal.”

“There’s no such thing as normal, Cullen. We all have our own peculiarities and we’re all dealing with them in our own ways. You are the way you are and there’s nothing abnormal about it.”

Cullen scrubs at his face with his hand, the desire to bang his head against his desk slightly diminished thanks to the conversation. “Thank you, Dorian.”

“Anytime. Just promise me one thing, Commander.”

“Of course.”

“When you and Maxwell get together, don’t let him stick his dick in you the first time. You’ll both regret it.” Cullen’s pushed him out onto the ramparts and shut the door in his face by the time he’s finished.

 

\- - -

 

“You made it!” The Inquisitor crows as Cullen walks inside the crowded tavern, and wonders if he’s been watching the door to notice him so quickly.

“I did,” Cullen replies, unsure of what else to say. The tavern is loud and filled with people, as it’s an evening and no one seems to have anything better to do. Bull is in his corner regaling a serving girl on his lap as well as a gathered crowd with an assuredly embellished war story, while Sera and Dagna are perched on the upper floor pointing down and giggling to each other. Among such a normal backdrop the extraordinary happens: Max stands up and hugs him in greeting.

After a moment of frozen terror Cullen responds in kind, bringing his arms around Max. He’s afraid that Max can feel his heart pounding in his chest but if he does, he doesn’t comment on it as they separate and sit at the table Max had saved for them. Max is smiling like it’s his damn job, and of course it makes Cullen smile too.

“I don’t suppose you’ve ever spent much time in the Orlesian desert, have you?” Max asks him, and Cullen recalls that he had only returned a couple days ago.

“I can’t say I have, though I’ve heard it’s lovely this time of year.”

Max laughs, and it’s wonderful. “I’ve never felt such animosity from the earth itself, I swear. You should ask Sera about it, she’ll talk your ear off about how burned she got.” He points upward, and Cullen sees a distinct red hue to Sera’s skin he hadn’t noticed earlier, as well as a gingerness to her movements.

“Poor girl.”

“I told her to wear a hat.” Max shrugs. “But that wasn’t my point. My point  _ was,  _ I got you something.”

Cullen blinks. “What? You didn’t have to do that.”

Max laughs again. “Of course not. I wanted to.” He fishes around in his pocket before pulling out something in his fist. “Hold out your hands.” 

Cullen does, of course. Max could tell him to jump off the battlements and he’d do it, because he’s so far gone he doesn’t know why he bothered with his conversation with Dorian. As soon as he laid eyes on Max again, he was sure.

Into his hands Max drops a little carved figure, so detailed that Cullen brings it up to his face to see it better. It’s a mabari, perhaps the size of his thumb, and delicately carved with whirls and notches set into it. The color is a mottled earthy brown, with veins of different shades running through.

“I found it at Griffon Wing Keep. They find all sorts of artifacts and things out there, you know, and anything that isn’t of use to us they sell to vendors. Well when we were there I thought I might look through these things, and lo and behold,” Max goes on as Cullen examines it. “I asked the vendor if I could take it, and she said, ‘anything for the Herald,’ or something like that, so I took it.”

Cullen realizes with a start that Max is nervous about what he thought, and immediately puts him to right. “It’s beautiful,” he says, and Max’s smile lights up the room.

“I think so too. I’m glad you like it.” Cullen meets his eyes and time seems to slow its course for a period, running like molasses. Max’s smile is wide and earnest, and his freckles are lit up by the candlelight, and something about the world shifts slightly. 

Dorian’s words ring back to him, that there is no normal and he is the way he is, and he wonders how he could ever have doubted himself; Maxwell is sitting here, smiling at him, and there is nothing more important in the world than this.

Someone laughs raucously behind them and breaks the spell, leaving Cullen sitting wonderstruck, aware of his heart beating in a way he wasn’t before.

Max was startled too, and looks at Cullen apologetically. “This was really what I wanted to accomplish tonight. You can leave if you don’t want to be here any longer.”

Feeling a boldness new to him, Cullen asks, “Why don’t we leave together?”

Max looks surprised, his eyes widened slightly, before he smiles again. “Alright.”

The evening air is chilly outside the tavern, and as they walk toward the stairs to the great hall Max pushes his hair back and says, “I’m never more happy to be back than when I return from somewhere warm.”

Cullen laughs. “I feel the same way. Summers in Kirkwall were… difficult.”

“Especially in all that armor.” Max nudges his shoulder. “I’ll never understand Dorian’s obsession with the heat. I’m just not built for it, I suppose.”

Walking shoulder to shoulder is nice. Their arms brush, and as they talk about nothing of consequence something about it feels deeply comfortable. Max is always comfortable to be around, but like this, in the near-dark and alone in the courtyard, it’s like being apart from time.

They walk up the stairs in silence, their footsteps on stone echoing. The great hall is empty, everything of excitement shifted to the tavern in the natural cycle of days at Skyhold. Cullen’s not sure he’s ever been more grateful.

Max slows and eventually stops, clearly unsure where to go from here. Cullen isn’t sure himself; he’s only just become aware of his feelings for Max, and the general procession of relationships is a mystery to him in and of itself. Does Max even know how he feels? How does he find out?

“Cullen,” Max says, demonstrating his uncanny ability to interrupt Cullen’s thoughts as soon as they begin to spiral. “I- well.” He scratches at the back of his neck. “Thank you for meeting me tonight.”

“Of course,” Cullen says. “I’m always glad to spend time with you.”

That makes Max smile and look away. When he looks back he’s still smiling slightly, and he looks so perfect in the low light that Cullen does something he’s never done before.

He makes the first move. 

He leans forward and presses his mouth to Max’s. He’s still for a moment and Cullen goes through an instant of panic before Max begins to kiss him back, and oh, this is what it’s all about. Max’s lips move against his gently, hesitantly, like he’s afraid to push too hard, and Cullen can’t believe this is happening. He feels like a teenager with butterflies in his stomach, and Max lifts a hand to brush his knuckles against his jaw, and he never wants this moment to end.

But it does, and Max presses his forehead softly to Cullen’s as he gets his bearings. His eyes are cast down and his lips are turned up and happiness is positively radiating from him. Cullen has this weird surge of warm pride that says  _ I did that, I made him that happy,  _ before Max closes the distance between them again.

The second kiss is just as syrupy sweet as the first one, though they’re both struggling to keep from smiling so much that it breaks. Max’s stubble rubs up against his own, and despite the softness of the kiss itself, that roughness makes it even better.

Max kisses like there's no place under the Maker’s blessing he’d rather be, tugging softly at Cullen’s lower lip with his teeth. Max’s hands find his cheeks and his thumb strokes Cullen’s cheekbone as the kiss slows to a snail’s pace, and when they part again the night is so quiet he could hear a pin drop.

Max places one more small kiss on the scar bisecting Cullen’s lip before leaning back. “I don't think you know how long I've been wanting to do that,” he says with such earnestness that it makes Cullen’s heart squeeze.

“I don't think you know how much trouble you've put me through,” Cullen retorts.

Max’s eyebrows both raise and the corner of his mouth creeps up. “Do tell.”

“You seem to have awakened something in me. I've gone through a crisis over my sexual preferences and it's entirely your fault.”

Max laughs. “Maker, I'm sorry, my dear, but I hope it was worth it.”

Cullen lifts his hands to Max’s broad shoulders, runs them along the muscle and up his neck to cup his jaw. He meets his eyes, sparkling with joy, and says, “It was.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! find me on tumblr @ thomrainierskies.tumblr.com


End file.
